NPR 2009-05-25

From NPR News in Washington, I am Craig Windham.

The second ranking Democrat 1 in the Senate Dick Durbin of Illinois says President Obama is likely to announce this week his nominee 2 to replace retiring Supreme 3 Court justice David Souter. Durbin says Mr. Obama has made his criteria 4 clear. "I think he's gonna look for a person who understands the law, someone of high integrity and as he says someone who is in touch with the real world." Durbin was on NBC's "Meet the Press". But the Senate’s No.2 Republican Jon Kyl of Arizona says he is reserving the right to filibuster 5 the nomination 6. "Given the fact that the President has already signaled that he wants to appoint someone who has empathy and will decide cases based on that, I think you have to reserve it." Kyl was on Fox News Sunday.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has reaffirmed that he is a Republican despite a recent remark by former Vice 7 President Cheney to the contrary that Powell says the GOP needs to change. "I have always felt that the Republican Party should be more inclusive than it generally has been over the years. And I believe we need a strong Republican Party that is not just anchored in the base but has built on the base to include more individuals." Powell was interviewed on CBS's "Face the nation". He repeated his support for closing the US detention 8 facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a position that was echoed today by the Chairman of the Joint 9 Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen.

Russia’s Foreign Minister is calling on Israel to lift its economic blockade of the Gaza Strip after a summit in Damascus of Foreign Ministers from Muslim countries. Dale Gavlak reports from Oman.

Sergey Lavrov said Russia will press Israel to lift the economic blockade of Gaza when he meets Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in Moscow early next month. Gaza has been under blockades since the Hamas faction 10 took power in Gaza in June, 2007. Israel and other countries, including the US, have demanded Hamas recognize Israel and stop rocket fire in order for the embargo 11 to be lifted. Although most western countries have boycotted 12 Hamas, Russia has kept up a dialogue with the organization. Lavrov said he also urged Hamas to maintain the lull 13 in its rocket attacks against Israel. He added that Russia would like to see full-fledged peace talks started between Israel, the Palestinians, Syria and Lebanon. For NPR News, I am Dale Gavlak in Oman.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and former Vice President Al Gore 14 urged hundreds of business leaders at a conference in Denmark today to push governments to reach a global deal on reducing green house gases. Gore said a deal is essential this year because,in his words, "Mother Nature does not do bailouts". "The consequences that scientists have warned us about for decades are now beginning to occur." Gore was speaking at a World Business Summit on Climate Change. He called on the executives to find greener ways of running their businesses.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Seven people,most of them police officers, were killed today when a suicide bomber 15 detonated a blast at the entrance to a military base in the capital of Somalia. NPR’s Gwen Tompkins reports from Nairobi.

So far not the Somalia’s transitional government nor the Islamist extremists who want power appear strong enough to put the other away. But the hardliners had gained new territory in Mogadishu in recent weeks. And now the government is making its own offensive. The US, the African Union and the United Nations have shown increasing concern over the hardliners' assault on Somalia's moderate Islamist government. The U.S. has linked one of the extremist groups to al-Qaeda and the African Union has called for UN sanctions against Eritrea, whom they accuse of funneling 16 weapons to the extremists.  Eritrea denies the claim. Eritrea’s mortal enemy Ethiopia is also denying claims that it has troops in the country. Fears are rising that Eritrea and Ethiopia are fighting by proxy 17 in Somalia and that terrorist groups are taking advantage. Gwen Tompkins, NPR News, Nairobi.

At least nine people were wounded when gunmen attacked a Sikh temple in Vienna today. Vaughan Florin reports.

According to eyewitnesses 18, the incident started when a small number of worshipers showed displeasure about the sermon. One of the attackers pulled the gun, the other had a knife. In the ensuing struggle, several people were severely 19 wounded. The assailants were wrestled 20 to the ground. One witness told the Austrian Press Agency that, a few days ago, the police have been informed about the possible conflict at the temple. The roughly 10,000-strong-Indian community in Austria has previously 21 not been known for any violence. Vaughan Florin reporting.

A New York woman in her 50s is the latest person to die of swine flu in the US.  A spokeswoman said the woman had other medical problems as well.

I am Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington